December, 2020 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Jockey Angel Suarez Suffers Broken Femur In Fair Grounds Spill

Jockey Angel Suarez has undergone successful surgery to repair a broken femur suffered during a spill at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, La. on Saturday, the Puerto Rico native reported via Twitter on Sunday.

“Thanks everybody for the calls, txts and prayers,” Suarez wrote. “So many people reaching out with so many good wishes made my eyes tear you guys are amazing, thank you all.”

The incident occurred during Saturday's 10th race, when Suarez' mount Kehron's Creed was unable to avoid a stricken rival, Caramel Latte, at the five-sixteenths pole. Kehron's Creed returned to her feet and walked off the track under her own power, according to Equibase, while no news was provided on Caramel Latte.

An Eclipse Award finalist for outstanding apprentice jockey in 2012, Suarez has ridden 710 winners from 5,030 starters in his career.

Suarez made a few of the more bizarre headlines in racing history in 2014. The jockey faced criminal charges after he broke into two apartments in Bensalem, Penn., under the influence of an unknown substance. Though Suarez does not remember the night, he was spotted half-naked, climbing the second story balcony of a woman's apartment. He seized her dog and exited, leaping off the balcony. He then broke into another unit, where he was shot twice by a man babysitting a toddler.

Suarez underwent surgery for damage to his liver and pancreas, and was in a medically-induced coma for a week. He returned to the saddle in 2016, and was ranked in the top 100 jockeys by wins in both 2018 and 2019.

“There are a lot of people out there who are only looking out for themselves,” Suarez told Doug McCoy of The Racing Biz in 2018. “You have to learn who you're real friends are. It's been my true friends and family that's helped me pull through this. I've been lucky enough to be given a second chance in life and I'm trying to make the most of that chance.”

The post Jockey Angel Suarez Suffers Broken Femur In Fair Grounds Spill appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Japan: Fan-Favorite Filly Chrono Genesis Delivers Popular Repeat Victory In Arima Kinen

Voted first pick by a record number of 214,742 ballots, race favorite Chrono Genesis displayed a determined performance in capturing this year's Arima Kinen (the Grand Prix), her third G1 victory following the 2019 Shuka Sho (G1) and this year's Takarazuka Kinen (the Grand Prix, G1). The Bago filly has become the 15th horse and the second mare to dominate both Grand Prix races following Lys Gracieux last year (11th horse to win both races in the same year). Not only is it the first time in 60 years for a filly/mare to claim the Arima Kinen title two years in a row, but also the record set by fillies/mares to claim G1 races open to both male and female runners in a single season has now been extended to nine.

For the owner, Sunday Racing Co., Ltd., this is their fifth Arima Kinen title, the most in history, as they celebrate their ninth JRA-G1 victory this year alone (three with Gran Alegria, two each with Lucky Lilac and Chrono Genesis, one with Fierement and one with Grenadier Guards) which is also the most claimed in a single season. For both trainer Takashi Saito and jockey Yuichi Kitamura, this is the first JRA-G1 title since their Takarazuka Kinen win with the filly, and fourth and fifth overall, respectively.

The 16-horse field got underway with Babbitt taking the early lead, Authority and Blast Onepiece stalking the pace while Chrono Genesis camped way behind, around fifth from the rear. The gray filly made an early move gradually making headway in the middle of the backstretch and moved up on the field, entering the straight in third. After immediately picking off the tired pacesetter, Chrono Genesis tagged Fierement 100 meters out and battled stride for stride through the lane until the filly finally wore down the second favorite while holding off the strong-closing Salacia to prevail by a neck.

“All I wanted was her to be relaxed and her break wasn't that bad, she was in hand and ran in the same rhythm as before. Yesterday and today, I was in 2,500 meter-races here at Nakayama which enabled me to get warmed up with a good idea of how I wanted her to run. We haven't faced the two Triple Crown winners yet, but I hope she performs well and stays in the spotlight next season,” commented Yuichi Kitamura. “She was in good form and gave us a great impression before the race. I was worried that Yuichi might have made a too early bid, but he was confident and rode her beautifully, holding off the others. This is a dream come true and I have a feeling there will be many more,” added trainer Takashi Saito.

Sent off 11th favorite, Salacia broke from a wide stall before sitting in fourth from the rear right behind the eventual winner and was still trailing near the back when hitting the top of the stretch with a wide move. However, with a monstrous closing kick that was timed the fastest of the field, the five-year-old mare came looming up on the outside to challenge the dueling front runners and while a neck late to pin the winner, caught Fierement right before the wire to steal the runner-up trophy by a neck. Chrono Genesis and Salacia have become the first female runners to notch the top two places in the history of the race.

Moving up from mid-pack to second before hitting the backstretch and turning the final corners in good striking position, second pick Fierement entered the straight first but could not repel the determined challenge from the winner and was also caught right before the wire by the fast-closing Salacia to finish third.

Other Horses:
4th: (7) Lucky Lilac—sat 3-wide around 9th, gradually advanced, showed effort, no match for top 3 finishers
5th: (5) World Premiere—hugged rails around 5th, fell back turning final corners, quickened between horses
5th: (10) Curren Bouquetd'or—ran 3-wide around 8th, advanced to 3rd by final corner, lacked needed kick
7th: (8) Persian Knight—saved ground around 9th, angled out, showed belated charge
8th: (3) Crescendo Love—settled around 5th, dropped back rounding final corners, even paced
9th: (15) Ocea Great—sat 3-wide around 5th, showed brief effort until 100m marker
10th: (4) Loves Only You—raced around 9th, angled out but met traffic at early stretch, never a threat
11th: (16) You Can Smile—took economic trip near rear, showed little at stretch
12th: (6) Kiseki—was off slow, traveled 3-wide around 14th, advanced in backstretch, nothing left at stretch
13th: (1) Babbitt—set slow pace, faded after surrendering lead at top of stretch
14th: (12) Authority—tracked leader around 2nd, ridden after 3rd corner but outrun
15th: (11) Mozu Bello—broke poorly, trailed in rear, no factor
FF: (2) Blast Onepiece—stalked leader, fell back in backstretch, pulled up due to atrial fibrillation

The post Japan: Fan-Favorite Filly Chrono Genesis Delivers Popular Repeat Victory In Arima Kinen appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Danon The Kid Remains Undefeated With Year-End Triumph In Hopeful Stakes

Race favorite Danon the Kid claimed this year's Hopeful Stakes at Nakayama in Japan, giving his sire Just a Way (by Heart's Cry) his first G1 title. The bay colt has emulated this year's Triple Crown victor Contrail in capping off his debut campaign undefeated with three consecutive wins—after claiming his debut start in June, he scored a graded win in the Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai Stakes (G3) on Nov. 23.

Trainer Takayuki Yasuda captured his 12th JRA-G1 title, his first since the 2013 Sprinters Stakes with Lord Kanaloa, while jockey Yuga Kawada claimed his 15th, celebrating his latest victory just a week earlier with Grenadier Guards in the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes.

The 15 runners broke smoothly with Land of Liberty grabbing the lead, pressed by Titleholder in second and Orthoclase in third by the first turn. Danon the Kid, along with Vanishing Point on his outside, advanced to third and fourth, respectively, as the field cruised down the backstretch. As the pacesetter swerved way off course and tossed his rider while the field approached the final corner, Danon the Kid made a wide move entering the straight first and turned up an extra gear in the last 100 meters to cross the wire by a good 1-1/4 length margin.

“I'm just so happy that I have at last been able to win on one of my mentor and teacher Mr. Yasuda's runners. The stable staff did a great job in tuning up the colt and he ran much better than he did in his previous start but still, he couldn't find a good rhythm and was not steady in the last two corners today. There is still a lot of room for improvement and we intend to work hard so he can kick off a good three-year-old campaign,” commented Yuga Kawada after the race.

Breaking from the most inner stall, third favorite Orthoclase steadily saved ground in third to fourth up to the last corner, advanced smoothly to second by the furlong pole and threatened the eventual winner briefly but lacked the final kick, while holding off Yoho Lake by 1/2 length to finish second.

Sent off fourth favorite, Yoho Lake was unhurried traveling in mid-field and three-wide before making rapid headway rounding the last turn and chased the eventual winner in the straight with the tied fastest late drive but succumbed to third.

Other Horses:

4th: (11) Titleholder—broke sharply, pressed pace, fought briefly with winner in early stretch, gave up 3rd in last 50m
5th: (13) Chevalier Rose—wide trip in 10th to 11th, advanced while chasing Yoho Lake in straight, no match
6th: (5) Tenkaharu—settled in 10th to 11th, rounded last corner economically, showed effort
7th: (9) Aoi Sho—4th from rear, shifted out wide for bid, tied with fastest last 3-furlong drive, unable to threaten
8th: (7) Machaon d'Or—saved ground around 13th, made headway along the rails and rallied for the lead, weakened in last 50m
9th: (4) Vigore—took economic trip around 6th, met traffic at early stretch, lacked needed kick
10th: (12) Admire Sage—settled around 7th, took wide route to enter lane, unable to reach contention
11th: (6) Whole Shebang—sat around 6th, dropped position in last corners, showed little at stretch
12th: (8) Vanishing Point—traveled wide in midfield, advanced to 2nd in backstretch, fell back turning last corner
13th: (15) Say Hello to You—traveled 2nd from last, no factor
14th: (14) Moriden Arrow—trailed in very rear, never a threat
Fail to Finish: (3) Land of Liberty—set pace, drifted outside at 4th corner and lost rider

The post Danon The Kid Remains Undefeated With Year-End Triumph In Hopeful Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

‘We Have An Obligation’: Louis Cella Named Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Sportsman of the Year

Oaklawn owner and president Louis Cella has been named the 2020 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Sportsman of the Year for his efforts to keep racing going during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The track operated without fans in attendance beginning on March 13, and was able to continue hosting racing through the end of the season. Cella even rescheduled the Arkansas Derby to the first Saturday in May when it was announced that Churchill Downs would postpone the Kentucky Derby.

“In racing, we have an obligation,” Cella told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. “It's not like a retail store. You send your employees home and good luck and let's talk next week. We have 500 people in the backstretch. We've got 1,500 horses that have to be fed and cared for. We have our own employees, and at that time, we're ramped up to a thousand people. We can't just turn the lights off and say go home. It's not right, and we can't do it.”

Read more at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

The post ‘We Have An Obligation’: Louis Cella Named Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Sportsman of the Year appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post